Circuit breakers are commonly found in substations and are operable to selectively open and close electrical connections. Typical dead tank circuit breakers have pole assemblies that include first and second electrical conductors in associated bushings. As is known in the art, electrical power lines are coupled to first and second electrical conductors, and the circuit breaker selectively opens or closes the electrical connection there-between. A bell crank or other actuating assembly is associated with a respective pole assembly. The bell cranks are interconnected by a gang-style rotary or push-pull linkage so that all three poles assemblies are actuated at the same time by a single operating mechanism.
In these conventional dead tank circuit breakers, a drive shaft coupling the linkage to the bell cranks is part of the gas seal at each pole assembly, or a single drive shaft passes through all poles assemblies. Thus, the drive shaft(s) cannot be installed or removed for servicing without the time-consuming removal or reclaiming the insulating gas from the pole assemblies.
Thus, there is a need to provide a drive shaft for a circuit breaker that can be installed or removed for servicing without the need to remove or reclaim the insulating gas from an associated pole assembly.